The Games We Play
by eudyptulaminor
Summary: Seventh year Christmas finds two lost souls tired of playing games, tired of the lies. So they decide to do something about it.


DISCLAIMER: I really don't own this. I really don't own a lot of things. And if I did own this, do you really think I wouldn't have enough money to buy hangers?  
  
It was Christmas, but the remaining wizards and witches at Hogwarts didn't feel like celebrating. For the first time in years, most of the professors went home to visit their families, fearing that they might never get the chance again. So, on Christmas Eve, dinner found the only six inhabitants of the castle eating in silence.  
  
Albus Dumbledore looked around at the table in sorrow. The five people with him had no family that they would want to celebrate the season with. It tore his heart to think that the two people in the school, who he thought of as his family, would have no family. The only thing he could hope for this Christmas, was that one of them would open their eyes to see the love that was within his grasp (literally this time, he was sitting right next to him).  
  
When dinner finished, everyone went his or her separate ways. Some to wallow in where their lives had taken them, others to reflect on where their lives were leading them. One lonely figure was not thinking about his sorrows, or his troubles, though. He was thinking of all the pain that everyone around him was going though, and what he could do to end it. His feet lead him to a place that he had grown familiar with over the past three years: the roof of the tallest tower. It was here that he could think about his life, his family, his friends, his hopes, and his dreams. It was here that he could think what he really wanted to think; it was here that he could be himself.  
  
This night was different from all the other nights that this lonely wizard had experienced. For this night, someone came to join him.  
  
"You look lonely."  
  
"So what if I am?"  
  
"May I sit down?"  
  
"If you must. But be warned, it is cold and I'm not good company."  
  
"Who said I wanted good company?"  
  
The two figures sat in silence for a while until the new comer spoke. "I never meant it."  
  
"I know."  
  
"How?"  
  
"You eyes. They spoke of pain, never of humor."  
  
"Your friends never seemed to notice."  
  
"They aren't good at reading people."  
  
"Why did you play along then?"  
  
There was a shrug and a pause before the answer of, "I don't really know. It was expected, it was a game that I could never tire of, I really don't know."  
  
"But you did tire of the game."  
  
"Yes I did."  
  
"You've tired of a lot of the games."  
  
"I know."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I'm tired of all the lies. That is what all of the games were about: the lies. I didn't want to live in those lies."  
  
"You still are though."  
  
"I know. But some lies you just have to live with. Some you can never get rid of."  
  
"You don't have to lie with me."  
  
"I know. I haven't for the past two years. The only people who I still play the games with are my house and the world. They would never be able to accept the truth."  
  
"So what? If they can't live with it, that's their problem."  
  
"It is also my problem." There was another pause before the lonely figure spoke again. "When this is all over, will you be there for me? Will you stand by my side? Will you run away from the lies, run away from the world with me?"  
  
"A heard of Hippogriffs couldn't keep me away." They both laughed at the joked laced in that statement. "You never even had to ask. I will love you until the end of time."  
  
"They aren't going to like this you know. You will be hated."  
  
"They already hate me."  
  
"You'll get howlers."  
  
"I already get them."  
  
"I might not make it though the battle."  
  
"You will, because I will be right beside you. And if you don't, I will still be right there beside you."  
  
"I don't want this to be our only Christmas together."  
  
"It won't be."  
  
"Can we make the most of it anyways?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
They both stood up and retreated back into the comforts of the castle. When dawn poked her head over the horizon the next morning, neither of the two who saw her disappear were there to great her. They were both locked in the confines of a bed, high in the Gryffindor tower, savoring each other's presence. They both knew that the world would turn their backs on them once they were discovered. But they didn't care, they had each other. For Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, one less game was being played, but five more where there to take its place. 


End file.
